Bread slicing machine



P 1933. H. J. CRINER BREAD SLICING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.5, 1935 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Sept. 5, 1933. H. J. CRINER 1,925,431

BREAD SLICING MACHINE- f Filed Jan. 5, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L F. 2INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 5, 1933 PATENT o FIcE 1,925,481 BREAD SLICINGMACHINE Harry J. Criner, 'Davenport, Iowa, assignor of one-half to A. G.Bush, Davenport, Iowa Application January 5, 1933. Serial N0.'650,260

17 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in bread slicing machines of thegeneral type shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 636,459, in

which blades having a reciprocating stroke actuated at least in onedirection by'a rocker arm,

are utilized.

The objects of my invention are: 7

1. To provide a slicing machine in which two series of bladesreciprocate alternately and have,

19 their cutting edges maintained substantially in the same plane; Y

2. To provide a slicing machine in which the cutting blades may bereciprocated by a rocker arm and the cutting edges maintained in sub- 5stantially the same plane;

3. To provide means which will permit a relatively long stroke ofcutting blades'actuated by a rocker armwithout materially deflecting thecutting edges of the blade from a given plane of operation; 1

4. To provide means for driving a reciprocatingblade or other partbya-rocker arm and for maintainingit constantly in a given line oftravel longitudinally while being so-driven;

5. To provide a, simple, practical form of reciprocating slicing machinewhich will reduce vibration to a minimum; h

6. To provide a balanced straight line drive for alternatinglyreciprocating sets of longitudinally moving parts.

I accomplish these objectsby the means illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which,--

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my machine on the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a vertical section of my machine on the line 22 of Figure 1;a

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail plan view showing a portion-ofthecrossbars and rocker arms in section;

line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views.

My machine comprisesa frame, 1, having feet, la, comprising sideframessuitably united by cross-memberswhioh may be either separate orformed integral therewith.

Upon the frame near one end thereof I mount a housing, 21, preferablyformed of a deep metal channel suitably secured to thegframe by bolts,rivets or other means and with end plates, 22 and 22a, on either sidethereof suitably secured by bolts or'rivets, 22b, to the housing, 21.

v I mount a pair of short shafts, 40, -i n suitable bearings, 40a,formed on opposite sides of the similar parts Figure 4 is a normal sizesectional detail on the main frame. Upon each shaft, 40, Imount justinside of the frame, a rocker arm, 38'. These rocker arms are pivotallymounted upon the shafts, 40, and have vcrossbars, 38a, formed integraltherewith-or suitably secured thereto. I-- prefer to cast the rockerarms 38, and the cross bars, 38a, in one piece. Each rocker arm, 38, hasa hub, 39, formed integral therewith at the middle thereof and hubs, 41,cast integral therewith at the opposite ends thereof. The hubs, 39, arepreferably provided with ball-bearings mounted upon the shafts, 40,-soas to rotate freely thereon.

In each of the hubs 'or bosses, 41, I mount an oilless bearing, 42.'Drive bars .for the cutting blades are formed of cross-members, 44,each; cross-member having a bracket, 43, cast integral therewith at eachend thereof and in the, brackets, 43, pins, 42a, are rigidly securedwhichextend into and are pivotally mounted in thebearings, 42. 48,formed upon the inner face thereof, with a slot for opening, 48a, cut ineach lug to permit the introduction of a cutting blade therein.

The cutting blades may be secured to the lugs by pivot. pins, 25a,secured inthe lower ends of the blades and seated in suitable bores orgrooves in the lugs, 48. The lower end of each bracket, 43, has ahardened steel plate, 45, secured upon the inner face thereof by setscrews, 44a. In

each side frame of the machine adjacentthe lower ends of the brackets,43, I mount a pivot pin or stub shaft, 47, carrying a, ball-bearing, 46.These ball-bearings, 46, and the inner faces of the lower ends of thebrackets, 43, are so proportioned and located that the hardened plates,45, will form a contact with the adjacent faces of the roller bearingsand as the rocker arm, 38, os-

cillates, the steel plates, 45, will run up and down upon the adjacentball-bearings, 46, thereby largely doing away with any friction;

I attach the lower ends of a plurality of cutting blades, 25, to thelugs, 48, as heretofore described, these blades being arranged in twoseries,

one series being'attached to the lugs upon the front drive bar, 44, andthe other series being attached to the lugsupon the rear drive bar, 44.

\- These cutting blades extend upwardly through a plate or feed table,16, having slots or openings, 28, cut therein through which the bladesmay pass, and the upper ends of the blades, 25, are attached to thelower ends of springs, 23, the upper ends of which project upwardlythroughthe housing 21,,and are threaded to receive and be secured inplaceby nuts, 24, by which the ten-r Each drive; bar, 44, has aplurality of lugs, 7

sion upon the cutting blades may be individually adjusted.

I mount oilless guide or bearing blocks, 26, within the housing, 21,said guide-bars being provided with slots through which the bladesseverally pass, the sides of the slots acting as guides for the blades.

I prefer to form this guide-bar, 26, of some graphited bearing metal,but it is obvious that oiled maple or any other suitable material may beused. The guidebars, 26, are mounted in angleiron, 27, the ends of whichmay be secured to the sides of the housing, 21, by rivetsor bolts.

In order to oscillate the rocker arms, 38, I'form integral with one ofthe crossbars, 38a, an arm,

curedin the fork, and pivotally mounted in'the bearing, 36. The oppositeend, 33,-of the connecting rod is pivotally mounted upon a crank 'pin,34," with an oilless bearing, 34a, interposed between them. This crankpin is rigidly united "to a flywheel, 29, which revolves upon a shaft,

'pulley,'3, mounted upon the shaft of the motor, 2.

The motor,2, has its feet, 2a, mounted upon the frame, 1, preferablywith a-pad, 1b, interposed to reduce vibration.

Supports, 5, united by a crossbar, 5a, extend upwardly from the frame atthe left or front of the machine and have mounted in the upper endthereof a' conveyor shaft, 8,'upon which a roll, 7, is secured whichcarries, a conveyor belt, 6.

A similar roll, "7a, is mounted upon asimilar shaft, 8a, secured in theframe adjacent the bread plate, 16, and the conveyor'belt, 6, passesover both rolls and carries the bread toward the blades. I

Lateral guides, 9, are secured to the uprights, 5, by bolts, 9a, andserve to keep the bread from lateral displacement in its passage tothe'blades. A similar conveyor belt, 10, is mounted at the rear ofthemachine to carry the bread away after it is cut and passes over arollgll, mounted upon An extension, 13, may be formed integral with thebracket, 15, to carry the lower'conveyor roll of the take-off conveyor,but

is not shown in the drawings as any desired type of conveyor may be usedwith this slicing machine.

Guiderails, 1 2, are secured to the frame by bolts, 12a, adjacent theconveyor belt, 10.

, While I have shown each individual blade attached to and actuated inone direction by a tension spring and in the other direction bythe drivebars, I do not limit my claims to this precise construction. It isobvious that any form of attachment for the upper ends of the blades maybe used which will carry themin a straight line'longitudinally and thatthe-upper ends of the blades may be driven by duplicates of the drivingap paratus for the lower ends if desired without departingfrom thespirit of my invention.

In practice 'it is found desirable to actuate the cutting bladelongitudinally in such a way as to keep all cutting edges in a givenvertical plane travel in the same vertical planes.

lines and with the pivots in the lower ends of the blades all secured inline transversely of the machine, they will cause all of the blades toTh springs attached to the upper ends of the blades have a directvertical pull and will tend to hold the blades in line vertically at alltimes. If desired, the blades of one series may be given a lead over theother series by advancing one of the drive and arranging the spring ofthe first series to correspond.

The pull of the springs upon the blades will hold the lower ends of thebrackets 43, as far inward as the ball-bearings, 46, and the hardenedplates, 45, will permit. The outer casing of the ball-bearing will actas detent to prevent the hardened plates, 45, and the brackets attachedthereto, from being carried out of line inwardly.

In the operation of my machine, the parts are assembled as describedabove, and the motor started. The bread to be sliced is placed upon theconveyor, 6, which is drivenby a pulley, 49, that may be belted to themotor,2, or to any independent source of power. wheel,'29, causes therocker arms, 38, to oscillate upon their shafts, 40. As one end of therockerarm, 38, travels downwardly, it carries its attached bracket, 43,downwardly, thus driving the attached lugs, 48, and the blades, 25,secured there- 1 to, in a downward direction. As the fly wheel, 29,completes its revolution, it drives the connecting rod, 22, upwardly andreverses the action of the rocker arm, 38, carrying the opposite seriesof lugs and attached blades downwardly, and this reciprocating action isrepeated as long asth motor runs. 1

The blades are'propelled' upwardly by the upward motion of the lugs towhich they are at-. tached and, at the same time, are drawn upwardly bythe tension of the springs attached thereto so asto give them areciprocating action through the bread and each blade makes itsappropriate slicing cut, the blades, of course, being spaced at thedesired distance apart. springs is sufficient to keep'the blades taut-atall times and to permit the use of very thin blades.

I prefer to form the blades with a toothed cutting edge, but the cuttingedge may be straight or.

sinuate if desired.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the size, proportionsand position of the various parts of my apparatus and that it may beadaptedto out various things, without departing from the spirit of myinvention andI do not confinemy claims to the precise forms shown in thedrawings.

"I- claim:

The revolution of the fly The tension (if the 1. In a slicingmachinehaving a frame and-a plurality of slicing blades mounted therein,an actuating mechanism 'forthe blades comprising a pair-o'fspacedrocker-arms pivoted in the frame, an opposed pair of brackets pivotallymounted upon each of the-rocker-arms,- drive bars'u'niting;

the corresponding -bracketslaterally, a-plurality of lugs united 'to'thedrive bars, means for severally attaching one end of the blades tothe lugs,

- and means for oscillating the rocker-arms.

2. In a slicing machine having a frame and a plurality of slicing bladesmounted. therein, an-

actuating mechanism for the blades-comprising a pair of spacedrocker-arms united bycrossbars and pivoted in the frame, an opposed pairof brackets pivotally mounted upon each of the rocker-arms, drive barsuniting the corresponding brackets laterally, a plurality of lugs unitedto the drive ba'rs,means for severally attaching oneend of the blades tothe'lugs, and means for oscillating the rocker-arms 3. In a slicingmachine having a frame and a plurality of slicing bladesmounted'there'in, an actuating mechanism for the blades comprising apair of spaced rocker-arms pivoted in the frame, '1 an opposed pair ofbrackets pivotally mounted upon each of the rocker-arms, drive barsuniting the corresponding brackets laterally, a plurality bearingblocks, and means for rocker-arms.

4. In a slicing machine having a frame and a plurality of slicing bladesmounted therein, actuating mechanism for theblades comprising scillatingthe 7 pair of spaced rocker-arms united by cross-bars and pivoted in theframe, an opposed pair of brackets pivotally mounted upon each of therocker-arms, drive bars uniting the corresponding brackets laterally, aplurality of lugs united to the drive bars severally, means attachingone end of the blades to the lugs, bearing blocks united respectively tothe free ends of thebrackets, rolls pivotally mounted in the frame andinterposed respectively between the opposed bearing blocks, and meansfor oscillating the rocker- 5. In a slicing machine havinga frame a'ndaplurality of slicing blades mounted therein, an

1' actuating mechanism for the blades comprising a pair of' spacedrocker-arms pivoted in the frame, an-opposed pair of brackets pivotallymounted upon each of the r0ckerarms, drive bars uniting thecorresponding brackets laterally, a series of lugs united to each of thedrive bars severally, means pivotally attaching one end of the blades tothe lugs, bearing blocks united respectively to the free ends of thebrackets, detents mounted in the frame and interposed respectivelybetween the opposed bearing blocks, and means for oscillating therocker-arms.

6. In a slicing machine having a frame and a plurality of slicing bladesmounted therein, an actuating mechanism for the blades comprising a pairof spaced rocker-arms pivoted in the frame, an opposed pair of bracketspivotally mounted upon each of the rocker-arms, drive bars uniting thecorresponding brackets laterally, a series of lugs united to each of thedrive bars severally, means pivotally attaching one end of the blades tothe lugs, tension springs attaching the other end of the bladesseverally to the frame and adapted to exert a continuous tension uponthe blades, bear ng blocks united respectively to the free ends of thebrackets, detents mounted in the frame and interposed respectivelybetween the opposed bearing blocks, and means for oscillating therocker-arms.

'7. In a slicing machine having a frame and ,1 10'. A slicing spacedrocker-arms pivoted in the frame on opaplur'alityof slicing bladesmounted therein, an actuating mechanism for the'blades comprising a pairof spaced rocker-arms pivoted in theframe. an opposed pair of bracketspivotally mounted upon each of therocker-arms, drive bars uniting thecorresponding brackets laterally, a series of lugs united to each of thedrive bar's severally, means pivotally'attaching one end of theblades'to the lugs, bearing inner faces formed upon the free ends of thebrackets, detents mounted in the frame andinterposed respectivelybetween the opposed bearing faces, and means for oscillating therocker-arms. Y

' 8;--A slicing machine comprising a frame,

spaced "rocker-arms pivoted in the frame on opposite sides thereofrespectively, cross-bars united to the rocker-arms, a bracket pivotallymounted upon each of the rocker-arms in corresponding positions nearcorresponding ends thereof, a transverse drive bar united to thebrackets, a plurality of lugs united to the drive bar, means forseverally attaching one end of the blades to the lugs, bearing facesformed respectively upon the free ends .of the brackets; rolls pivotallymounted in the frame adjacent'the bearing faces of the brackets, andmeans for oscillating the rocker-arms.

9.A 's1icing machine comprising a frame,

spaced rocker-arms pivoted in the frame on opposite sides-thereofrespectively, cross-bars united to the rocker-arms, a pair of opposedbrackets pivotally mounted upon each of the rocker-arms in correspondingpositions at or near the ends thereof, transverse drive bars united tothe corresponding brackets of each pair respectively, a

plurality of lugs united to the drive bars, means for severallyattaching one end of the blades to the lugs, bearingfaces unitedrespectively to the free ends of the brackets, rolls pivotally mountedin the'frame adjacent the bearing faces of the brackets,: and means foroscillating the rockerarms.

machine comprising a frame,

posite sides-thereof respectively, cross-bars united "to therocker-arms, apairof opposed brackets pivotally mounted upon each of therocker-arms in corresponding positions at ornear theends thereof,transverse drive bars united to the cor- A responding brackets of eachpair respectively, a plurality of lugs united to the drive bars, meansfor severally attaching one end of the blades to the lugs, bearing facesunited respectively to the free ends of the brackets, detents mounted inthe frame adjacent the bearing faces of the brackets,

and means for oscillating the rocker-arms.

11. A slicing machine comprising a frame, spaced rocker-armspivoted inthe frame on opposite sides thereof respectively, cross-bars united tothe rocker-arms, a pair of opposed brackets pivotally mounted upon eachof the rocker-arms in corresponding positions at or near the endsthereof, transverse drive bars united to the cor- ISO respondingbrackets of each pair respectively, a

plurality of lugs united to the drive bars, means for severallyattaching one end of the blades to the lugs, tension springs attachingthe other end of the blades severally to the frame and adapted to exerta continuous tension upon the blades,

posite sidesthereof respectively,cross-bars united to the rocker-arms,asbracket pivotallyimounted upon I each of the zrocker-arms incorresponding positions near corresponding ends thereof, a transversedrive bar united to the brackets, a plurality of lugs unitedto thevdrive'banmeans 'for severally attaching oneend of the blades to thelugs, bearing facesformed-respectively upon the .free ends of thebrackets, rolls pivotally mountedin the frame adjacent the bearingfacesof the-brackets, means for oscillatingthe rocker- 4 arms, and meansforsupportingthe article be- :cle to be sliced during the-slicingoperation.

14. A slicing machine comprising a :frame, spaced rocker-armspivoted inthe'frame on op- 'posite sides-thereof respectively, cross-bars unitedto the rocker-arms, a pair of opposed brackets pivotally mounted uponeach of the rocker-arms in corresponding positions at .or near the endsthereof, transverse drive barscunited to the correspondingibrackets ofeach-pair respectively, a pluralityof lugsunited to the-drive bars,means for severally attachingone .end of Lthe'bla'desato the lugs,bearing faces'united respectively to the free ends of thebrackets,.rolls pivotally. mounted in the frame adjacentthe bearingfaces'of-the brackets, means for oscillating the rocker-arms, andmeans-for supporting and feeding the article to be sliced'duringthe'slicing operation.

15. A slicing -machine comprising a frame,

spaced rocker-arms pivoted in the frame on opposite sides thereofrespectively, cross-bars united to the :rocker-arms, a pair of opposedbrackets pivotally -mounted upon :each of the rocker-arms'incorrespondingrpositions at or near the ends .thereof, transverse drive=bars united to the corresponding brackets of each pairrespectively,aplurality of lugs united tothe drive bars,,

means for severally attaching one end .of the blades to thelugs, bearingfaces united respec- .tively to the free ends of the brackets, detentsmountedin the frame adjacent the bearing faces of thebrackets'means foroscillating the rocker--v arms, and meansfor supporting and feeding thearticle to be sliced during the slicing operation.

16..A slicing machine comprising a frame, spaced rocker-arms pivoted inthe frame on 0pposite sides thereof respectively, cross-bars unitedtotherocker-arms, a'pair of opposed brackets pivotallymounted upon each ofthe rocker-arms incorresponding positions at or near the ends thereof,transverse-drive bars united to the corresponding brackets of each'pairrespectively, a

plurality oflugs-unitedto the drive bars, means for-severally attachingone end of the-bladesto theilugs, bearingfacesunited respectivelyto: thefree ends of the brackets, rolls pivotally mounted inthe frame adjacentthe bearing faces of the brackets, a.-slotted tableinterposed betweenthe drivebars'and the springs with the blades passing through the slotstherein, and means :for oscillatingthe rocker-arms.

17. A slicing machine comprising a frame, spaced rocker-arms pivoted inthe frame on opposite sides thereof respectively, cross-bars united tothe rocker-arms, a pair of opposedbrackets pivotally mounted upon eachof the rocker-arms in corresponding positions at or near the endsthereof, transverse drive bars unitedto the corresponding brackets ofeach pair respectively, a

plurality of lugs united to the drive bars, means for severallyattachingone-end of the blades to the lugsybearingfaces united respectivelyto thefree ends of the brackets, rolls pivotally mounted in the .frameadjacent the bearing faces of the brackets, a slotted table interposedbetween the drive bars andthe-springs with the blades passingthrough'the slots therein,=conveyors'to carry the bread to .and from theslotted table, and means for oscillating the rocker arms.

HARRY vJ. .CRINER.

